Package



April 4, 1944. Q H. Humm l2,345,978

v I PAGKAGE y Filed Jan. l5, 1942 A 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEYPatented Apr. 4, 1944 2,345,978l PACKAGE Oscar H. Hultin, Quincy, Mass.,assignor to Pneumatic Scale Corporation,

Mass.,

Limited, Quincy,

a corporation of Massachusetts Application January 15, 1942, Serial No.426,809

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention,Fig. 1 shows a blank 'from which the present carton may be formed;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the top of the carton andillustrating the manner in which the top flaps are initially closed;Fig. 3 is a plan view of the carton partially closed showing the flapsto which adhesive is applied prior to com-` pleting` the closurethereof; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the completed top closure; Fig.5 is aperspective view illustrating the manner in which the top'closureis initially opened to form a pouring spout; Fig. 6 vis Aa similar viewshowing the flaps fully extended and forming a V-shaped pouring spout;Fig. 7 is a perspective view shcwing the top closure in its reclosedcondition;y Fig. 8 is a cross section through the top closing aps takenon the line 8--8 of Fig. 4; Fig. 9 is a. similar view after the cartonhas been initially opened and reclosed, the section being taken on theline 9 9 of Fig. 7; and, Fig. 10 is a perspective view ofy a cartonembodying the present invention and provided with an outer wrapper; v

In general, the invention contemplates a package comprising a cartonhaving a novel land improved top closure of aconstruction such as toenable one end of the closure to be easily opened to form a pouringspout for convenience in discharging the contents of the carton,V andinwhich provision is also made for enabling the' carton to be reclosedin a novel and efficient manner.

In the preferred form of the invention, the carton is provided with anend flap formed integrally with an adjacent side flap, the end flapbeing scored at an angle to permit the connected side and end flaps tobe folded together to form a bellows like fold, in which the side flapoverlies the folded end flap when the top of the carton is closed. Thus,when the pouring end of the top closure is opened and extended, theintegral side and end flap member forms a V-shaped trough or channelthrough which the commodity i claims. (ci. 22e-1 7) may be discharged.Perforated or weakened lines may be provided in the last folded closingap adjacent the pouring spout section and the latter may be opened bymerely lifting the flaps upwardly to tear the last folded flap along theperforated lines. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, thebellows fold is formedat an angle such as to cause one edge thereof toextend beyond an end wall of the carton, forming a, convenientprojection to be grasped and lifted to initiate tearing of the cartontop. One line of perforations above referred to extends transversely ofthe last folded flap comprising a side flap, and is arranged so that thetorn edge of a detached portion extends beyond the underlying edge of aremaining fiap when the carton is opened. Thus, in reclosing the pouringspout,v

the folded spout portion may be pushed downwardly into the carton untilthe extended edge is engaged beneath the transverse edge of theremaining portion of the top closure, as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed.

Referring now to the drawings, see Fig. 1, In represents a carton blankprovided with scored fold lines defining sidewall panels i2, and end"wall panels I4 provided with bottom closure flaps I 6, I8 ofconventional form extending from the panels I2, i4 respectively. Inaccordance with the present invention, the top closing flaps areconstructed and folded in a manner such as to provide a pouring spout atone end of the' carton when the latter is opened,:as shown in Fig. 6,and, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the top closing flaps comprise anend ap 20, a cutorpartial side ap 22, aconnected end and side ap membercomprising a. side nap portion 24, and an end iap portion 26 providedwith an` angularly scored line 28 arranged to form a, bellows-like foldin the assembled carton, and a. last folded ap comprising a side flap 30extending across the entire length of the top of the carton. As hereinshown, the last folded flap is provided with perforated or weakenedlines 32,l 34, one of which forming portion comprising the connected end32 extends along one edge of the assembled carton adjacent the pouringspout, the second line 34 extending transversely of ,the assembledcarton adjacent the inner edge of the pouring spout.

As best shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the sequence of initially closing theflaps to form the top closure comprises first folding down the spout andside iiap member by folding in` the'vend portion 26 along thediagonallyjscored line 28 and scored line 23 andl simultaneously'foldingin the side ap portion 24 so that the latter overlies as illusti'ated inFig. 4. As shown in Fig. 10, the

completely sealed carton or package may, in some instances, be providedwith an outer wrapper 40 if desired. Furthermore, in some instances, itmay be desirable to tack together the marginal edges 42, 44 of thetriangular portions 46, 48 of the bellows-like fold by providing anarrow strip of adhesive along the marginal edge 44 as shown in Fig. 2in order t'o prevent the folded spout portion, otherwise adhesive free,from bulging due to the inherent spring in the carton material, and toprovide a more eiiicient seal. However, the narrow sealthus formed maybe easily broken upon lifting the ilaps when opening the carton as .willbe hereinafter described.

From the description thus far it will be observed that the portion 3|dened by the perforated lines 32, 34 ofthe last folded flap 3|) isadhesively secured to the top of the side flap portion 24 and forms anintegral part thereof in the assembled carton. It will also be notedthat the transverse row of perforations 34 in the last folded flap 30 isoffset slightly with respect to the edge 50 of the underlying side ilapportion 22 so that when the pouring spout is opened and refolded, thetorn edge 52 of the detached panel 3| will extend beyond the edge 50 fora purpose to be hereinafter described.

Referring now to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, in order to open the carton to exposethe pouring spout, the top closure is first torn along the perforatededge 32 by lifting upwardly against the bellows folded portion as shownin Fig. 5, and at the same time.

.breaking the narrow sealed portion along the edge 44. Thereafter, theiiaps thus raised may be grasped as shown in Fig. 5 and by pullingupwardly in a diagonal direction, the top iiap is torn along thetransverse perforated'line 3 4 to separate the panel 3l from the lastfolded flap 30, the remaining portion of the latter being retained inits initially sealed condition. This operation may be performed byinserting the thumbnail or a knife under the exposed edge portion of thebellows fold and raising the flaps upwardly. However, in the preferredand illustrated embodiment of the invention, the bellows beyond the edgeof the carton so as to provide a convenient projection 54 by which theflaps may be engaged by the thumb to initiate the tearing operation. Asillustrated in Figs. 1 and 3, the folded edge of the bellows fold iscaused to project beyond the end of the carton by scoring the foldingline 29, connecting the end and side iiap portions 24, 2B, slightly olfthe perpendicular, so that the angle deiined by the score line 29 andthe top score line 58 adjacent the side flap portion 24 Will be slightlymore than 90. Thus, when the flap portion 24 is subsequently foldeddownythe folded edge 29 will project outwardly beyond the edge' of oneend of the carton, as

clearly shownin Fig-3. y

Upon tearing the ap along the perforated i lines as above described, thebellows portion 28 fold is preferably arranged to extend outwardly andits connected side flap portion unfolded and extended as shown formall-shapedpouringspout. Itwlllbe served that the detached panel 3|secured to the side flap portion 24 folded iiaps may be pushed down toforcel the torn edge 52 ofthe panel 3l under the edge 5I of the sideflap portion 22 as clearly shown in Fig. 9, thus forming a simple andeiiicient rewhile the preferred embodiment of the .in-

vention has been herein illustrated and described it will be understoodthat the invention may be embodiedin other forms within the scope of thefollowing claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

'1. As a new article of manufacture, a package comprising a cartonhaving side and end wall panels provided with extensions formingthe topclosing flaps, said top closing iiaps including an A end flap. a partialside flap, an integral side and end flap member scored and folded toform a bellows-like fold at one end of the assembled carton and arrangedwhen opened to form a V- shaped pouring spout, and a full length sideflap comprising the last folded ap, said last folded flap only havingweakened lines formed therein adjacent the folded pouring spouttransversely and longitudinally of the top of the carton and along whichthe material may be readily torn to facilitate opening of the pouringspout. 2l. As a new article of manufacture, a package comprising acarton having side and end wall panels provided with extensions formingthe top closing flaps, said top closing flaps including an end iiap, apartial side ap, an integral side and end flap member. scored and foldedto form a bellows-like fold at one end of the as'- sembled carton andarranged when opened to form a V-shaped pouring spout. and a full lengthside flap comprising the last folded iiap, said last folded iiap onlyhaving weakened lines formed therein adjacent the folded pouring spouttransversely and longitudinally of the top ofl the carton and alongwhich the material may be readily torn to facilitate opening of thepouring spout, said bellows-like fold being folded'at an langle such asto cause a portion thereof to sembled carton and arranged when opened toform a V-shaped pouring spout, and a full length side flap comprisingthe last folded flap, said last folded flap being adhesively secured tothe underlying aps and being provided with perforated lines along oneedge, and transversely of the top closure adjacent said pouring spout inthe closed carton to facilitate opening thereof, said partial side appresenting a transverse edge thereof parallel to and slightly offsetwith relation to said transverse perforated line, whereby upon openingthe carton, the transverse torn edge of the detached portion of saidlast folded flap may be forced under the transverse edge of said partialside ap to'reclose the pouring spout.

lla As a new article of manufacture, a package comprising a cartonhaving side and end wall panels provided with extensions forming the topclosing flaps, said top closing flaps including anerld flap, a partialside flap, an integral side and end ap member scored and folded to forma bellows-like fold at one end of the assembled carton `and arrangedwhen opened to forrn a V-shaped pouring spout, and a full length sideflap comprising the last folded ap, said last folded flap beingadhesively secured to the underlying'flaps and being provided with weak.ened lines transversely of and along one edge of the top closureadjacent said pouring spout in the closed carton, said bellows-likeportion being folded so as to form a projection from one end of theassembled carton to facilitate opening of the pouring spout along saidweakened lines, whereby the latter may be opened by first tearing alongthe weakened edge portion and thereafter simultaneously raising theflaps and tearing along thetransverse weakened line.

